Often, in the past, consumable liquid dispensers for delivering, for example, cream or milk to a consumer's coffee or tea has relied on gravity flow downward from a container to a dispensing location. This has meant that such dispensers were typically located entirely above a counter. These dispensers use valuable above-counter space that could be put to better use. The dispensing unit has to be large enough to house one or more containers of significant size. In addition refrigeration of the above-counter container or containers (essential for dairy products) further adds to the size of the above-counter unit.
Liquid consumables that are delivered under pressure such as beer or carbonated water can be remotely housed and delivered to a tap or dispenser at a bar or counter where drinks are prepared. Non-carbonated drinks like cream, milk and fruit juice have ordinarily not been delivered to a dispensing station in this manner. Beer is delivered to a remote tap by compressed air forced into direct contact with the beer in a keg. Where spoilage is a concern one would ordinarily like to avoid air contact with the liquid.
Non-carbonated liquid can be moved from one place to another by a pump. However, where the liquid is consumable (i.e. a food product), that raises concerns for sanitation. Pump parts that contact liquid require constant, repeated cleaning to maintain proper sanitary conditions.
There is a need, therefore, for a consumable liquid delivery system that does not require extensive counter space, that works to deliver non-carbonated liquids from a remote location, that does not contact the liquid with any movable part as would a pump and that moves the liquid other than by gravity.
Where, as in the case of dairy products, temperature of the consumable liquid is an important consideration, a further problem must be addressed. That problem is maintaining temperature of the liquid product in the path from its container or “store” to its dispensing location. For dairy products close temperature control at all points along the delivery system is a government requirement. In the U.S. dairy product must be maintained at a temperature above 32° and below 41° Fahrenheit within its container and along the length of the delivery tube.
A shortcoming of known dispensers of consumable liquids such as cream is lack of a consistent dose from one dispenser use to the next. In certain environments this is undesirable. Proprietors of many convenience stores and fast food restaurants where consumers operate the cream dispensers would prefer to know that each activation of the dispenser will provide the same dose. This is also true where an employee provides a beverage at a drive-through window. It is preferable for coffee with cream, for example, to be consistent from one restaurant to the next. Travelers that patronize chain restaurants often do so in the expectation that products they purchase will be virtually identical at each restaurant. So a consistent dose of cream, half and half or milk with every cup of coffee or tea is desirable.